Aetna Foundation Awards Grant to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to Improve School Lunches

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"We are pleased to support this program that enlists those on the front lines of preparing school meals to help kids establish healthy eating habits that can lead to a lifetime of good health."

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Aetna Foundation, the independent philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc.
(NYSE: AET),
has awarded a $40,000 grant to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to make
school lunches healthier and more appealing to kids in Cobb and DeKalb
Counties. The funding supports the expansion of Children’s Strong4Life
School Nutrition Training Program, an initiative launched in 2012 to
train school cafeteria managers in ways to make vegetables, whole grains
and other nutritious foods more fun for kids to eat.

“We appreciate the Aetna Foundation’s support to expand our program to
255 more schools this year,” said Trisha Hardy, director of Child
Wellness, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. “We can make a real
difference in the health of Greater Atlanta’s children by educating
school cafeteria staff in the serious health issues stemming from
childhood obesity and training them in techniques that will encourage
kids to make healthy choices as they come through the lunch line.”

The training program for cafeteria employees provides a core curriculum
in children’s nutrition and the role of diet in health and wellness. The
program also offers practical, hands-on activities to make nutritious
food more appealing, such as creating attractive fresh fruit and
vegetable displays, designing visually exciting menu boards, making
water and low-fat milk more accessible than chocolate milk and other
sugary beverages, and creative naming approaches for healthy eating
options, such as "Superhero Spinach.”

“With the vast majority of students eating both breakfast and lunch at
school, we need to ensure that kids are consuming wholesome food that
will make them healthier, fitter and ready to learn,” said Garth Graham,
M.D., M.P.H., president of the Aetna Foundation. “We are pleased to
support this program that enlists those on the front lines of preparing
school meals to help kids establish healthy eating habits that can lead
to a lifetime of good health.”

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta anticipates that nearly 375 school
cafeteria managers and staff, impacting upwards of 210,000 school kids,
will have received the Strong4Life training program by the end of the
2013 - 2014 school year.

About Strong4LifeIn 2011, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta,
one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country,
took on a mission and developed Strong4Life, a wellness movement
designed to ignite societal change and reverse the epidemic of childhood
obesity and its associated diseases in Georgia. Created and maintained
by the doctors, nutritionists and wellness experts at Children's,
Strong4Life seeks to reach people, no matter where they are in their
readiness for change with the information, tools and support they need
to get and keep their family healthier and stronger. Since then, Strong4Life
has been in the community reaching families through public
awareness, policy change efforts, school programs, healthcare provider
programs and community partnerships. For more information, join our
community at strong4life.com,
Facebook,
Twitter
and YouTube.

About Children's Healthcare of AtlantaDedicated to All
BetterChildren's Healthcare of Atlanta, a not-for-profit
organization, is committed to enhancing the lives of children through
excellence in patient care, research and education. Managing more than
half a million patient visits annually at three hospitals and 17
neighborhood locations, Children's is one of the largest clinical care
providers for children in the country. Children's offers access to more
than 30 pediatric specialties and is ranked among the top children's
hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. With generous philanthropic and
volunteer support, Children's has made an impact in the lives of
children in Georgia, the United States and throughout the world. Visit www.choa.org
for more information.

About the Aetna FoundationThe Aetna Foundation, Inc. is the
independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Since 1980,
Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed more than $427 million
in grants and sponsorships, including more than $14.6 million awarded in
2012. As a national health foundation, we promote wellness, health, and
access to high-quality health care for everyone. This work is enhanced
by the time and commitment of Aetna employees, who have volunteered four
million hours since 2003. The Aetna Foundation’s current giving is
focused on addressing the rising rate of adult and childhood obesity in
the U.S.; promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and health care;
and advancing integrated health care. For more information, visit www.aetnafoundation.org.